Abstract
Objectives To examine the acceptability and feasibility of narrative text messages with or without financial incentives to support weight loss for men.
Design Individually randomised three-arm feasibility trial with 12 months’ follow-up.
Setting Two sites in Scotland with high levels of disadvantage according to Scottish Index for Multiple Deprivation (SIMD).
Participants Men with obesity (n=105) recruited through community outreach and general practitioner registers.
Interventions Participants randomised to: (A) narrative text messages plus financial incentive for 12 months (short message service (SMS)+I), (B) narrative text messages for 12 months (SMS only), or (C) waiting list control.
Outcomes Acceptability and feasibility of recruitment, retention, intervention components and trial procedures assessed by analysing quantitative and qualitative data at 3, 6 and 12 months.
Results 105 men were recruited, 60% from more disadvantaged areas (SIMD quintiles 1 or 2). Retention at 12 months was 74%. Fewer SMS+I participants (64%) completed 12-month assessments compared with SMS only (79%) and control (83%). Narrative texts were acceptable to many men, but some reported negative reactions. No evidence emerged that level of disadvantage was related to acceptability of narrative texts. Eleven SMS+I participants (31%) successfully met or partially met weight loss targets. The cost of the incentive per participant was £81.94 (95% CI £34.59 to £129.30). Incentives were acceptable, but improving health was reported as the key motivator for weight loss. All groups lost weight (SMS+I: −2.51 kg (SD=4.94); SMS only: −1.29 kg (SD=5.03); control: −0.86 kg (SD=5.64) at 12 months).
Conclusions This three-arm weight management feasibility trial recruited and retained men from across the socioeconomic spectrum, with the majority from areas of disadvantage, was broadly acceptable to most participants and feasible to deliver.
Design Individually randomised three-arm feasibility trial with 12 months’ follow-up.
Setting Two sites in Scotland with high levels of disadvantage according to Scottish Index for Multiple Deprivation (SIMD).
Participants Men with obesity (n=105) recruited through community outreach and general practitioner registers.
Interventions Participants randomised to: (A) narrative text messages plus financial incentive for 12 months (short message service (SMS)+I), (B) narrative text messages for 12 months (SMS only), or (C) waiting list control.
Outcomes Acceptability and feasibility of recruitment, retention, intervention components and trial procedures assessed by analysing quantitative and qualitative data at 3, 6 and 12 months.
Results 105 men were recruited, 60% from more disadvantaged areas (SIMD quintiles 1 or 2). Retention at 12 months was 74%. Fewer SMS+I participants (64%) completed 12-month assessments compared with SMS only (79%) and control (83%). Narrative texts were acceptable to many men, but some reported negative reactions. No evidence emerged that level of disadvantage was related to acceptability of narrative texts. Eleven SMS+I participants (31%) successfully met or partially met weight loss targets. The cost of the incentive per participant was £81.94 (95% CI £34.59 to £129.30). Incentives were acceptable, but improving health was reported as the key motivator for weight loss. All groups lost weight (SMS+I: −2.51 kg (SD=4.94); SMS only: −1.29 kg (SD=5.03); control: −0.86 kg (SD=5.64) at 12 months).
Conclusions This three-arm weight management feasibility trial recruited and retained men from across the socioeconomic spectrum, with the majority from areas of disadvantage, was broadly acceptable to most participants and feasible to deliver.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 032653 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | BMJ Open |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Early online date | 25 Feb 2020 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 25 Feb 2020 |
Bibliographical note
Funding This report presents independent research commissioned by the NIHR. The views and opinions expressed by authors in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the NHS, the NIHR, MRC, CCF, NETSCC, the Public Health Research programme or the Department of Health. The views and opinions expressed by the interviewees in this publication are those of the interviewees and do not necessarily reflect those of the authors, those of the NHS, the NIHR, MRC, CCF, NETSCC, the Public Health Research programme or the Department of Health. The Nursing Midwifery and Allied Health Professionals Research Unit, the Health Services Research Unit and Health Economics Research Unit are funded by the Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorate.Data availability statement Data are available on reasonable request. Access to data can be arranged through the coprincipal investigators of the study: Professor Pat Hoddinott (University of Stirling, p.m.hoddinott@stir.ac.uk) and Dr Stephan Dombrowski (University of New Brunswick, stephan.dombrowski@unb.ca) to
discuss data sharing, data requirements and conflicts of interest, in line with any EU and other regulations, including ethics approvals.
Keywords
- feasibility
- men
- obesity
- SMS
- trial
- weight loss
- PRIMARY-CARE
- ALCOHOL
- HEALTH
- FINANCIAL INCENTIVES
- BEHAVIORS
- PARALLEL
Access to Document
- Dombrowksi_etal_BMJOpen_Game_of_stones_VOR
© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to copy, redistribute, remix, transform and build upon this work for any purpose, provided the original work is properly cited, a link to the licence is given, and indication of whether changes were made. See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.